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Petterson NJCAA Hall of Fame Inductee

Thu, 03/14/2019 - 12:00am

BELOIT – Wayne Petterson was recently inducted into the 2019 NJCAA Hall of Fame Inductees at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluff, Iowa. Petterson started his wrestling career in Beloit, Kansas before attending Fort Hays State University where he was a three time NAIA All-American and a 1982 graduate.

Petterson was the head coach at Fort Hays State University from 1982-1992. While there, he coached 18 NAIA All-Americans, two NAIA National Champions and two top 5 NAIA National team finishes. Coach Petterson was also active in USA Wrestling, serving as director of the Kansas freestyle and Greco teams from 1983-1991. He had the honor of serving as the Head Freestyle coach of the 1988 NAIA All Star team that was team champion of the Oceanic Championships held in Melbourne, Australia.

After a one-year stint as the assistant wrestling coach for Northern Illinois University, Petterson accepted the head coaching position for Colorado Northwestern Community College. From 1994-1997, Coach Petterson qualified nine wrestlers for the National tournament and had two NJCAA All-Americans. Wayne went on to head up the Beloit Wrestling Club, which produced five Kansas state champions and 20 state placers.

In 2005, Petterson was hired as the head wrestling coach for Neosho County Community College. During his 12 years at the helm, Coach Petterson qualified 61 individuals for the NJCAA National tournament. He had 23 NJCAA All-Americans, six National finalists and three NJCAA National Champions. He was the 2012 NJCAA Wrestling Man of the Year and was elected as the President of the NJCAA Wrestling Coaches Association from 2014-2017.

In Coach Petterson's 25 year college head coaching career, he produced 43 All-American, 10 National finalists, five National Champions, and had teams finish in the Top 10 in the country six times. Wayne would like to recognize his family for all of their support throughout the years. He is married to his loving wife Linda, and they have two daughters, Jessica and Jenna. Accompanying Wayne, was his wife, Linda and daughter, Jenna of Chanute; brother Bob Petterson of Fort Morgan, CO; sister Karen Martin of Beloit and his dad Bob Petterson of Beloit.